


flammable

by goblinonmars



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: But Not Much, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Lio Fotia-centric, M/M, Nightmares, One Shot, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, galo is actually just a dog, he/they gueira and meis bc i said so, ik nothing about firefighting or floristry sorry, lio gets alcohol poisoning, lio is a tomato, they kiss a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:02:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28595904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goblinonmars/pseuds/goblinonmars
Summary: Lio thought he was stronger, but in the aftermath of the Promare, he realizes that he’s struggling much more than he expected.He should’ve been better. Yet, Galo still looks at him as though he were the sun.
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 95





	flammable

* * *

Lio didn’t remember much about that day’s mission. 

There was smoke, as per usual, but the thick, suffocating kind that pooled together like quicksand. Even through the heavy helmets sanctioned by Burning Rescue, he felt it creep into lungs like a wet rag. 

But what was worse was the bodies. The entire apartment had caught on fire- and though they were able to rescue most of its residents, there was a good amount that didn’t make it. He recalls the desperate cries of a girl, screaming through tears that her mom was still in there, and the similar fast, panicked tone of a man explaining that he couldn’t find his cat. Going in there, Lio smelled it- the all too familiar scent of death. 

He should’ve been used to it. After leading the Mad Burnish, after Thyma, but he just couldn’t. 

“I’m sorry,” he tells the girl and the man, and watches their faces crumble. Luckily, Ignis was there to take over for him before he actually began to break down, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. 

“You did good, kid.” he nods and Lio nods back, though he didn’t believe him. 

If Lio had done good, those people would still be alive. Thyma, too, and all the Burnish that were lost to Kray and the destruction of the Promare. 

Lio’s heart is beating too fast, so he goes to sit in the back of one of the ambulances to calm down. A paramedic hands him a cold towel, and he thanks them with a nod. 

The smoke-filled air hits his face as he takes off his helmet. The shouting, the bodies, the cries, the ambulance wails that are still coming. It’s all too overwhelming. Lio’s face is hot, the would-be fire churning in his stomach and making its way through his veins. But unlike before, nothing happens when he opens his palm. 

He feels a coldness and the back of his neck and jumps, jerking around to see what happened and is met with a bright shock of blue hair. 

Galo’s expression is surprisingly gentle, holding yet another towel- presumably for himself. 

“You okay?” he asks, voice an anchor amongst the chaos. 

“More or less.” Lio manages to crack a smile. 

“You look horrible,” Galo regards, as blunt as ever. 

Lio laughs, giving Galo a once over. Soot was caked onto his face and there was a gash in his uniform, a fresh burn underneath. Based on the stinging sensation on his thigh and the pounding in his head, Lio was sure his condition wasn’t much better. 

“You’re not so hot yourself, Thymos,” he retorts, watching Galo’s figure grow closer. The red and blue flashes from the ambulance made it hard to focus on anything except the bright blue of his eyes. 

Suddenly, Galo slaps a sweaty palm to Lio’s forehead, causing him to recoil. 

“What the fuck?!” 

“Speak for yourself.” Galo’s mischievous grin quickly dissolves into a thin, worried line. “You’re burning up.” 

“I’m Burni- Um, I’m used to heat.” Lio frowns deeply. He should have been able to take it. Otherwise, what sort of leader would he have been? 

“You should go to the hospital,” Galo continues, taking a step forward. 

Lio scoots back. His heart beat faster than before. He couldn’t stop looking at Galo’s eyes. 

“I’m fine,” he says, firm. 

But Galo doesn’t take the hint, rather continues to stride up to him and presses his face right up to Lio’s. 

“What-” Lio begins. 

“Your eyes are glassy and unfocused, your body temperature is hotter than usual, and your hands are shaking.” He counts off his fingers as he speaks. “That’s protocol for: you’re in shock and injured and you need to get help. It’d be irresponsible if you didn’t.” 

As much as he hated to admit it, Galo was right. Yet, thinking about the plain white walls and sterilized smell of the hospital- having needles plugged into his veins and strangers looking at his body, at his… Burnishness, made Lio want to throw up. 

“I really don’t think I can go to the hospital, Galo,” Lio says quietly, averting his gaze. There’s a stretch of silence, and Lio’s not really sure he even heard him, until:

“Okay, you don’t have to.” Galo sighs. “But promise you’ll at least come to my apartment so I can patch us up.” 

Lio groans, pinching his nose bridge. He doesn’t think he can get out of this without going with him, and his head is pounding. “Fine, fine. Anything so you’ll leave me alone.” 

And in the midst of the wreckage and smoke, Galo grins as brightly as the center of an active flame. 

* * *

_This is ridiculous_. Lio thinks. He’s swaddled up inside a pile of blankets, sitting by the dining table as Galo cooks up a storm in the kitchen. It smells sweet, but Lio won’t put up with being babied. 

“If I didn’t have this concussion, I would strangle you right now,” Lio calls out.

“At least you admitted you have one,” Galo shouts back. 

Fuck. Lio rocks back into the chair. When did Galo get so smart? Did the Promare also split their brain cells? 

“Here.” Galo sets out two plates, balancing a skillet in his other hand as he did so. The omelets sizzle as they’re slid out onto the dishes, and Lio’s stomach grumbles, betraying him. 

“Ha!” Galo says, making Lio jump. “I knew you were hungry! You gotta stop bluffing, man.” 

“I’m not-!” Lio struggles to free his hand from the mass of blankets, “Bluffing-!” he gasps as his right arm is finally released. “Give me a fork.” 

“Hey, don’t move so quickly.” Galo frowns, quickly running to the kitchen and running back with the forks. He places one right in Lio’s hand. 

Lio looks down at his reflection in the silvery metal.

It’s strange to be taken care of. He feels… slightly ashamed, because there’s a warm feeling in his stomach, not unlike the Burnish flame-- yet it was less angry and pained and more like a sun-kissed afternoon. He didn’t deserve that. He should’ve been better. It’s the girl’s mother who should be sitting under a pile of blankets, eating hot omelets in the company of friends. Not him, never him. 

“Lio,” Galo says softly, his hand reaching out and skimming his cheek. 

“Huh?” Lio glances up at Galo’s eyes and the warmth in his stomach intensifies. 

“I uh- there’s a wound on your head, I need to bandage it.” 

“Oh.” Lio blinks, using his free hand to pull the blankets down. “Sure.” 

He tries to sit as still as he can while Galo moves around, tying a strip of gauze around his forehead. It’s hard though, with his heart pounding so fast and his face right up in Galo’s chest, so close he can feel the heat emanating off him. 

“How’s your leg?” Galo asks, voice rumbly above him. 

“Mmm, it hurts a bit less.” he flexes his leg a bit, feeling the bandage against the soft pajama pants he’s borrowed from Galo. “How’s your burn?” 

“Better now that I put aloe vera on it!” he grins. “It’ll heal- I’ve definitely had worse.” 

“Me too…” Lio trails off. But why did this time feel so awful?

“You should stay here tonight. It’s late and I don’t think you should be driving.” Galo finishes bandaging and steps back to observe his work. “Is it tight enough?” 

“It’s good, thank you.” Lio nods, mouth curving into a small smile. “You want me to stay with you that badly, huh?” 

“I-!” Galo flushes red. “Hey! I’m just trying to be a good friend. You shouldn’t have to be alone right now.” he pouts, but relinquishes his dramatics for a bite of omelet. 

Lio snorts, hand covering his mouth. “Fine, I’ll stay. But only because Gueira and Meis’s apartment is too far from here anyway.” 

“Ohhh, sho zhats who you’ve been wiving with!” Galo tries through a mouthful of egg. He swallows hard, Adam's apple bobbing. Lio can’t help but stare at it. 

“We’ve been wondering where you go after work.” 

“Yeah. I’ve been crashing at their place on the couch. It’s… doable.” Lio cringes slightly, recalling the plethora of noises he’s heard coming from their bedroom. Gueira and Meis weren’t really the type to be discreet. 

“Don’t they live near the coast? Isn’t that far?” Galo questions, making Lio a bit overwhelmed. 

“I- I guess. I like commuting here though, I get to see the beach. Plus I don’t really have other options.” Lio chews his lip. 

“What?!” Galo lurches forward suddenly, slamming his hands on the table. “You could’ve come live with me!” he points at himself, looking a bit hurt. “If I’d known you were looking for a roommate, I would’ve offered.” 

Lio sighs, irritated. He massages his nose bridge before answering. “It’s not that I’m looking for a roommate, Gueira and Meis already know me. We’ve been on the run together for years and I trust them.” 

“And you don’t trust me?” Galo asks quietly.

“No, no, no, it’s not that.” _Ugh fuck._ “I’m just- not used to change,” he bites out, immediately averting his gaze. He knows his face is probably tomato red right now and it’s really fucking embarrassing. 

Galo is silent for a bit, like he’s processing what just happened. Lio half expects him to make a joke to lighten the tension but instead Galo gets up, takes two quick strides over, and wraps him up in a hug- blankets and all. 

“Uh- Galo?” Lio stiffens as he’s held. He can feel Galo’s heartbeat against his chest and he wonders if he can hear how loud Lio’s is too. Galo is warm- because why wouldn’t he be? And smells like cooking oil with a hint of Old Spice. Worst of all, he’s tall enough that he blocks Lio’s vision, enveloping him in a cocoon. 

It’s safe in Galo’s arms, and slowly, before he can rethink his actions- he reciprocates by moving his arms between Galo’s and onto his back. He thinks he feels Galo’s shoulders loosen slightly, but he’s not completely sure. 

“Sorry,” Galo mumbles into Lio’s hair. “Today’s just been really stressful and I wanted a hug. I feel like you needed one too.” 

“Yeah.” Lio breathes out. It takes another moment for him to gather his thoughts. “I’ve never known anything other than the Burnish and I don’t really know where to go from here.” he holds Galo a little tighter. “I guess what I’m saying is...”

“You’re scared.” Galo fills it in for him. “And that’s okay. I am too.” 

“You never seem scared.” Lio laughs. “You’re always shouting some battle cry or the other, even when we were battling Kray and I- uh. Well, I couldn’t anymore, you just kept going.” 

Galo also laughs, though it’s different from his usual hearty chuckles. It’s quieter, sadder, and a bit more like Lio’s. He’s never seen this side of him before. It’s still Galo, just slightly toned down and melancholy. 

“That means a lot. I try my best not to show it, because if I’m scared, then that means the people I’m helping will be too.” 

“I guess we have that in common, then.” Lio smiles. He wonders if Galo is too. 

“Move in with me,” Galo says suddenly, and Lio separates from their hug to look up at him. “I want you to.” 

“Galo…” he starts, frowning. 

“No, I’m serious. Look, I’m close to B.R. and…” 

“And?” Lio questions, raising an eyebrow. 

“And it would be fun! Um, because I feel like we get along really well and I was kinda sad that we became, yanno, just coworkers after everything that happened with the Promare and Galo De Lion and Kray,” Galo rambles, rubbing the back of his head.

“Oh.” Lio feels himself blush. _Galo wanted to get closer to him?_ He knows how Gueira would interpret this but that didn’t mean that Galo was interested in him, right? And even if that were the case, Lio probably wasn’t ready for a close relationship of any sort. People get hurt when they become close to him- his mother, Thyma, even Gueira and Meis. 

But Galo… Galo was different. He seemed to have an uncanny ability to not be hurt or dissuaded. No matter what, he just tried again. It was one of the many things Lio admired about him. He was a real hero, and a damn good one at that. And Lio, well, he probably needed one of those in his life. He had no real purpose other than working at the Burning Rescue right now, and living with Galo could take his mind off of not having his fire anymore. 

As Galo’s rambling, Lio looks around the space- the cozy offwhite walls that Galo’s tacked pictures of him and his friends, cute animals, and pizza coupons onto; the kitchen counter that’s sprawled with cooking ingredients as Galo is surprisingly a good chef; the flimsy department store couch that Galo’s stacked a mattress on so Lio could have a nice place to sleep- maybe, if he allowed himself to, he could make a space for himself here. 

“Okay.” he decides. 

“... and I know all the pizza restaurants around- Wait, did you just say okay?” Galo stares, wide eyed and slack jawed. 

“Yeah. I’ll do it.” Lio smiles, and mentally prepares himself for the bone crushing hug that’s about to come as Galo’s grin widens farther than he ever thought it could. 

* * *

“Our baby boss is finally growing up,” Gueira coos, wiping a fake tear from their eye. 

“I thought the day would never come,” Meis echoes the same mocking tone, grabbing onto Lio’s shoulder in a tragic display of dramatics. 

“You’re embarrassing yourselves,” Lio says, monotone. He hears Galo snort from behind him. 

“Aaw, but they’re so funny.” Galo grins. 

“See? This guy gets it.” Gueira puffs his chest up and walks over to deliver a fatal slap in the shoulder to Galo, who wheezes from impact. 

“You have way too much strength for someone with such skinny arms.” Galo coughs out. 

“I know,” Gueira says, somehow managing to look even more prideful. 

“Is that all then?” Meis questions, glancing down at the cardboard box in Lio’s arm. Lio nods and they frown. 

“I didn’t notice you had such little things.” 

“Speak for yourself, you were like this too when we were on the run.” Lio scoffs, clutching his box a little more defensively. 

“But you’ll see soon, boss.” Meis clutches onto Lio’s shoulder again. “The joy of indulging in meaningless purchases.” 

Gueira comes up to them, shaking their head. “Even gods must learn to be human.”

“Okay, I think I’m officially done with you two,” Lio deadpans, making a line towards the door. “Galo, let’s go.” 

“You guys aren’t gonna stay for dinner?” Gueira gives him puppy dog eyes. 

“No. Fuck off.” Lio waits for Galo to step out of the frame before he slams the door. He can hear Gueira and Meis giggling behind it. 

“Insufferable,” he mutters. With love, of course. 

“But they were nice,” Galo whines, staring at the door like a lost child. 

“Spend half a decade with them and you’ll treat them like I do too.” Lio rolls his eyes. 

They make their way out of the apartment complex, where Lio’s parked his bike in the lot. Gueira and Meis lived in the coastal town just outside Promepolis, so the air was clearer and smelled of sea water. 

“Lio.” He hears Galo say as he’s packing away his things into the compartment box. He sounds serious, and Lio immediately freezes. 

“What is it?” he asks tentatively. 

“Can we go swimming?” 

Lio’s so surprised that he ends up letting out a half-laugh, half-snort. Galo looks at him like he’s crazy, though he’s bouncing on his heels in anticipation. 

“I don’t see why not,” Lio replies, pulling one of the bands he has on his wrist to the tip of his fingers so he can tie his hair up. He plays with some of the strands as he does-- his hair’s gotten longer, almost down to his shoulders. He’ll have to cut it soon. 

Meanwhile, Galo, the maniac, starts stripping off his shirt then and there. Lio should’ve been used to it by now, seeing as Galo was practically allergic to shirts, but his face heats up anyway and he has to turn away. 

“The beach is a ten minute drive away. What the fuck are you doing,” he bites out. 

“I’m gonna run there.” Galo grins, doing some preliminary stretches. Lio has to look away again once he bends down to touch his toes. “I’ve been a bit out of shape yanno?” 

Lio clears his throat. “You look fine.” 

“You can drive if you want,” Galo says, arching his arm over his shoulder. 

“No, it’s okay. I need some exercise too.” Lio joins him in stretching. He’s glad he went for sneakers and sweats today rather than his usual combination of leather. 

“In that case.” Galo cracks a mischievous grin. “Wanna race?” 

Lio mirrors one back. “You’re on, Thymos.” 

* * *

Galo wins, but only because he makes a last minute dive into the sand, getting a nasty burn on his knee as he did so. Lio jogs up from behind, slightly winded. 

“Smooth landing,” he says through heavy breaths, extending a hand for Galo to take. 

“Thanks.” Galo takes it, wincing as he pulls himself up. 

It strikes Lio as he slows that he might’ve made a mistake running here, seeing as his concussion still hasn’t completely healed. His head is pounding, and there’s a sharp pain in his temple and stomach. He doesn’t even realize he’s wobbling until Galo reaches out to steady him. 

“Woah, you okay?” 

“Yeah.” Lio gasps, holding his head. “I, um. Probably should’ve driven.” 

“Oh shit. Sorry, I should’ve realized.” Galo’s voice sounds so close, his fingers just barely skimming Lio’s arm. 

“It’s fine. It’s not your fault.” _God_. He’s had concussions before- been slammed around like a chew toy by Kray’s task force- but this was the first time he’s had one since losing his Burnish abilities. Was it really because he didn’t have his fire anymore? He was so pathetic. 

“I have an idea.” Galo lets go of his arm. Lio has his eyes squeezed shut, so he doesn’t really realize what’s happening until Galo’s hands are wrapped around his middle and he’s lifted up off the ground. 

“Hey, what the hell?!” he struggles in protest, almost causing both of them to fall over if not for Lio’s instincts kicking in and grabbing around Galo’s neck for support. 

_Holy fuck._ Lio thinks once they’ve both regained their balance. Galo has him in a piggyback. This was even worse than the blankets-omelette situation.

But before he can open his mouth to complain, Galo starts hollering, and then he’s running, _fast_ , towards the water. Lio’s screaming as well- granted, it was all the profanities he’s ever learned- as they crash into the waves. 

“There is so much that’s wrong with you,” Lio says, slowly loosening his grip on Galo. 

Galo only asks softly, “Is this better?” and only then does Lio start to look around. 

It was early afternoon, and the sun shone faintly behind scattered gray clouds. The sky was a murky blue, like it would rain soon, but for now everything was still, if not slightly breezy. Lio realizes that he’s never taken it upon himself to stop and look at the ocean- at the waves lapping at Galo’s tanned ankles, at the small multi-colored fish swimming around the shallow water, at the way the sun’s rays outlined everything around them. 

He takes a deep breath in, then out, allowing the cool air into his lungs. 

“Yeah.” He places his chin in the crook of Galo’s shoulder. “It actually is.” 

* * *

It doesn’t take much for Lio to be moved in. He only had a few clothes and necessities, after all. Though Galo does force him to get rid of his throwing knives after going into a frenzy about how he won’t need them anymore. 

Lio’s fine just on the couch, but Galo takes special effort to actually get a small bed in the corner of the living room. 

“I want you to actually feel like you live here, not just like a guest,” he’d explained sheepishly. 

Lio doesn’t really understand why, but he appreciated the gesture anyway. 

The next thing he does is ask Galo whether he had scissors or clippers, and shuts himself in the bathroom for twenty minutes to cut his hair. He ends up doing it a bit shorter than expected, just up to his ears, but he kind of likes it. It’s different, like everything that’s happening around him. But strangely, he found that he didn’t mind it as much as before. 

Galo’s eyes practically bulge out of his head when he sees him. 

“Wow. You look… really good,” he says. 

“Thanks?” Lio laughs awkwardly, tugging a strand. “I thought I needed something new.” 

Galo just keeps staring. For a moment, Lio thought he saw his eyes flicker down towards his lips and he can’t help but notice Galo’s, too. He sure talked a lot for someone with such a pretty face- his deep blue eyes that Lio loved to look at, the sharp curve of his nose and cheekbones, the smile lines that were already forming at the corners of his eyes- He really wants to kiss him right now. 

_Wait. What?_

Lio clears his throat, fully aware that he’s blushing up a storm. Galo seems to have snapped out of whatever trance he was in as well. 

“Well then. I’m just… gonna go make lunch,” Galo says, turning on his heel. “How are we feeling about pizza?” 

“God, yes please.” 

Galo huffs out a laugh, disappearing into the kitchen. Meanwhile, Lio goes over to his new bed and sinks down on it, covering his reddened face with his arms. 

“Christ…” he mutters to himself. 

_Would it really be okay?_ Lio has never had these feelings before, on top of losing the Promare and his leadership with the Mad Burnish, he’s all too overwhelmed. On the battlefield, he never had time for love. He’s never even kissed anyone, unless CPR counted, and Lio was sure it didn’t. In fact, he thinks that day Galo hugged him was the first time he’d ever been comforted like that. He vaguely remembered his mother holding him as he cried, but that was a long, long time ago. 

But who’s to say Galo even likes him like that? He was a naturally affectionate person, from what Lio could tell- constantly sweeping everyone at Burning Rescue into crushing hugs. He’s not so desperate as to go to Gueira and Meis for advice just yet, but he’s really starting to consider it. 

Thankfully, Lio gets to be spared from his thoughts as the pager on his waistband begins beeping. He can hear Galo’s going off from the other room as well. Lio checks it: FIRE ON 1527 W 42ND STREET PROMEPOLIS NORTH SECTOR. RESPOND TO CALL IMMEDIATELY. 

With a sigh, he hefts himself off the bed and goes to the coat closet, where he’s hung up his B.R. uniform. It looks nice there next to Galo’s, though he doesn’t have much time to admire the sentimentality of it all. 

Lio shrugs it on quickly, pulling Galo’s off the rack as well and tosses it to him once he runs out of the kitchen. 

Galo catches it and winks at him. “Thanks, Lio. You’re the best.” which makes him blush and turn away. 

“Come on,” he says, holding the door open. “We can take my bike.” 

* * *

Lio does his best to maintain his composure in lieu of the previous incident, though he does breathe a sigh of relief when Ignis’s explanation of the situation seemed much, much better than the apartment fire- apparently an employee at a local fast food restaurant had accidentally caused a grease fire and panicked, shaking the pan around and eventually spreading it everywhere. Everyone seemed to be alive and outside when they got there, if not a little spooked. 

There was a brown haired kid no older than the age of eighteen standing at the front of the gathering. He had his head bowed and was being chewed out by who Lio presumed to be the manager. 

“Poor guy,” Aina laments from behind Lio. The manager’s so busy yelling at him that he didn’t seem to realize the fire department had even arrived. 

“I remember working food service when I was a teenager.” Varys shakes his head regretfully. “It was brutal.” 

“Well, let’s take care of this kid’s misery.” Lucia chimes through the headset. 

Lio echoes everyone’s “Roger”, feeling a small sense of pride at his unity with the team. 

“Okay- Thymos, Truss, Remi! You’re up front with me.” Ignis orders, to which Galo obeys with a “Yes, sir!” and a salute. The other two roll their eyes before following to pull the hoses out of the truck’s side. 

“Fotia!” Ignis calls out, making Lio jump. 

“Y-yes, sir!” Lio tries to mimic Galo’s salute from earlier, making Aina snort. 

“Do you think you can handle the interior? It’s small enough that we don’t need Lucia’s… contraptions-” Lio hears Lucia groan. “- I’ll need you and Aina to go in and put it out at the source.” 

“I can do it.” Lio nods firmly. 

“You sure? Part of what makes the force strong is honesty. If you need a break from action you can take over monitoring and I’ll go in instead.” 

“Yeah, I’m sure,” he says, a little annoyed. Of course he’s capable, he’s been fighting for his entire life. He feels like people have been forgetting that lately. 

“Okay, good luck kids. Use the beeper if anything happens.” Ignis finishes off with yet another salute, heading to the inside of the truck to keep watch with Lucia. 

“Come on, Fotia.” Aina hands him a hose and puts on her helmet and mask. Lio does the same, taking the hose with a nod of acknowledgement. 

It’s normally like this, with that sense of familiarity as they’re engulfed by the fire. Lucia designed their uniforms with modified material so that it was almost impossible to set it on fire, and it’s so similar to how Lio used to take on the flames easily, allowing them to lick his skin but never hurt. He can sense the warmth, the energy, and the adrenaline from the fire, as though it were a creature itself. 

Lio missed it a lot, which was probably why he accepted Ignis’s job offer easily. While it would never come close to how it was before, at least he could reunite with the fire on his missions with Burning Rescue, and save people along the way. 

Him and Aina put out the flames easily, simply freezing the ablazed grill in seconds. Then they move on to the small fires around the restaurant. Lio finds himself loosening. It seems as though this was going to be an easy resolution. 

“How are you, Lio? You’re a bit spaced out today,” Aina observes. 

“I’m fine,” Lio says bluntly. Did Galo tell the crew something? Is that why they were treating him like this? No. Lio knows in his heart that Galo wouldn’t do that. But that’s not going to stop him from finding out:

“Why do you ask?” 

“Oh.” Aina looks surprised. “I guess I’m just worried about you. You seemed really upset after the apartment fire last week.” 

“Yeah, I was.” He chews his lip. He doesn’t want to be talking about this with Aina of all people. With anyone, really. He supposes he’d been too open with his emotions that night, so much so that everyone and their mother noticed. 

The thought makes Lio cringe internally. He can almost hear Meis’s mocking voice: _“Even gods must learn to be human.”_

To Lio’s chagrin, Aina continues: “I might not have been through as much as you, but I understand how hard it is when rescues fail. I couldn’t leave my room for weeks after the first time it happened, and it took months before I started trusting myself again.” 

“What happened?” Lio asks tentatively. 

“School fire. One of the kids- a first grade girl, died.” Aina swallows, averting her gaze. “It was before we had Lucia, so our equipment wasn’t as high tech.” 

“Damn.” Lio doesn’t really know what else to say. He gets it, though. It’s the same pit-in-stomach feeling he had watching a Burnish dissolve into ashes, knowing well that- perhaps in another timeline, he could’ve saved them. 

“You never get used to it.” Aina nods to herself. “But I think as time passes, you learn to be kinder, to both others and yourself.” 

Well, Lio agrees with half of that statement. He doesn’t think he can ever forgive himself- the faces of everyone lost are seared into the back of his skull, haunting him before he sleeps. In a way, that was part of the job; to remember, to internalize, that way their losses wouldn’t be in vain. It aches, though. Like an impossible weight on his shoulders. 

“I don’t think I know how to do that,” he confesses quietly. “To myself, I mean.” 

Aina stares at him, as though she hadn’t expected him to respond at all. She takes a moment to think, and they extinguish the rest of the fires in a contemplative silence. 

“Come on.” She holds out her hand. “Let’s go sit by the truck and wait for the others.” 

“Okay.” Lio nods, taking it. 

* * *

The fire seemed to be almost gone when they exited, with only a small patch blazing through the roof. Galo and Remi were working on putting it out, while Varys was filing a report with the help of the manager, who still looked incredibly pissed. 

Galo waves to them as he passes. Despite not being able to see his face, Lio knows that he probably has a toothy grin plastered all over it right now. He smiles to himself, waving back, and watches as Galo almost loses balance on his ladder. 

“Are you stupid or something?!” Remi yells from the other side of the roof. 

Beside him, Aina giggles, pulling off her helmet. 

“You really like him, huh?” 

Lio’s glad he still has his helmet on, because he knows his face is heating up. 

“Don’t worry- I won’t tell.” she smirks, mimicking a zipping motion across her lips. “But I hope you do eventually. You’re good for each other.” 

“Aina-” Lio begins, though he doesn’t really know what he wants to say. Actually, he doesn’t really know how to deal with any of this. He’s starting to get a little choked up, whether it was because of the conversation or the insufferable humidity inside the helmet, so he takes it off as well. 

Aina takes the time to lean against the truck as he does so. 

“Letting go is easier said than done, I know. It does help to let others guide you though.” Lio realizes he’s staring, if not more wistfully than he wanted to, but he can’t really help it at this point. “We’re all here for you, Fotia, even if you don’t realize.” She gestures at the roof, where Remi and Galo were in the midst of a heated argument. “It’s okay to let your walls down.” She holds her hands up in defense. “You don’t have to follow my advice. Just… keep it in mind, alright?” 

Lio hums. He’s surprised she read so much into him. She was much more observant than he’d expected. 

“Yeah,” he says simply. “Thanks.” 

It’s brief, but Aina seems satisfied with the answer. She turns towards him, propping her chin up with her fist. 

“Anyway, I heard you and Galo are moving in together, how’s that going?” 

Lio sputters. And there’s no helmet to hide the redness of his face this time. 

* * *

The adjustment is strange at first. Sometimes Lio will wake up in a panic, forgetting where he is because his back isn’t aching like when he was sleeping on Gueira and Meis’s couch, before falling back onto the bed with the realization that- _Oh. He’s home._

They have very strange sleeping patterns, so much so that the combination is amusing at times. That is, if Lio wasn’t woken up by the loud clanging in the kitchen and Galo listening to obnoxiously loud pop songs as he cooks every morning, though it does give him incentive to start sleeping earlier than 4AM. 

Galo has a set routine. It’s something like- wake up around 7, go for a run, make breakfast, do errands, shift at Burning Rescue, eat lunch, run again, make dinner, then sleep around 9. Lio, however, plays it by day. He’s not used to normalcy, and it’s difficult to do anything but work and sleep. 

He keeps finding new things to do outside Burning Rescue. There’s several activist organizations run by non-Burnish and ex-Burnish alike, and Lio ends up swept within the business of it all. He starts having protests to go to and demands to draft to the new government. There’s an election coming up, and despite many of those on the ex-Burnish side touting Lio to run, he really doesn’t want to. Instead, he nominates Heris, Aina’s sister, to the surprise and protest of some. She was responsible and protective of her loved ones, and though Lio still didn’t completely trust her, she was the most capable for the job. 

Unfortunately, that meant that he didn’t have much time to actually see Galo other than in meetings regarding the new Promepolis’s policies. He’d catch him on occasion, though, whether it was him not sleeping until sunrise and Galo waking up then, or both of them ending up at the same pizza place for lunch. He didn’t realize how much he’d missed him until one rare morning where Lio actually woke up early and well rested, having accidentally fallen asleep over his computer the night before. 

“Good morning.” He sees Galo by the door, one foot up as he’s shoving on his sneakers. 

Lio rubs his eyes and yawns. His hair was tousled but he couldn’t bring himself to care. “Mornin’,” he replies. “Can I join you?” 

“Yeah, of course!” Galo breaks out into a grin. “How’d you sleep?” 

“Good, actually.” Lio gets up and stretches, pulling on his black jacket that he’d left on the dining room chair. “No nightmares.” 

“Great!” Galo says, then they’re silent again. 

It’s awkward. There’s something in the air beyond just tension, but he can’t put his finger on it. He hates it. Hates this uncertainty behind their interactions, especially considering both of them were anything but uncertain with most things. 

But Lio can’t just say that to Galo, so he huffs out a sigh, slips his running shoes on, and joins Galo in the apartment hallway. 

The city is quiet in the early morning, with only a few commuters rushing around the street. Galo explains that he’s taking his usual route towards the park, where there’s a small lake that he likes to feed the geese in. 

“You know bread isn’t actually good for them. Oats and diced grapes are better.” 

“Really?!” Galo looks distraught. “But I’ve been buying fresh bread for them every morning.” 

“It’s okay.” Lio smiles fondly. “At least you know now.” 

“Are you busy? We should go to the supermarket to get oats for them,” Galo suggests, a hopeful glint in his eye. 

“I have time.” Lio nods. He does have to finish a spreadsheet of all the spendings at the city mandated homeless shelters, many of which a sizable amount of ex-Burnish have migrated to, but he supposes one more excursion wouldn’t hurt. 

They jog to the local grocer, which was about two blocks away. It was a comfortable little place, with brick walls and a flower stand in the front. Lio makes a mental note to consider starting a community garden at the shelter and selling the produce here. 

“Hey, this kinda looks like you!” Galo’s voice snaps him into reality. He’s pointing at a bouquet of white lilies that were tinted slightly pink on the inside, paired with sprouts of green hydrangeas. There was a cheesy looking teddy bear decoration plugged amongst the flowers, holding a red heart that said “I love you bear-ey much!”. 

Lio laughs, though he feels himself blushing. “Don’t patronize me.” 

“I’m not-!” Galo protests, flicking the bear with his finger. “It’s really cute.” Then he stops, considers what he just said, and quickly turns away from Lio. “Uh- I’m gonna get the oats.” 

As Galo’s busy inside, Lio glances at the bouquet. _Did he really like it that much?_ He supposes it wouldn’t hurt to get it for him. It’s been a while since they’ve hung out, after all. 

“Excuse me, how much is this?” Lio asks the old man at the counter. 

“Oh, are you Galo’s friend? I saw you come in with him.” he asks with wide, crinkled eyes. “Tell you what, I’ll give you a 15% discount. It’ll be $6.50.” 

“Ah- thanks.” Lio’s a little speechless as he hands over his credit card. 

“You know, he comes in here every single day and asks me how I am- I’ve never met anyone like him,” the man rambles. “I hope he knows he’s appreciated.” 

_Me too_. Lio wants to say, but he nods instead, taking his card back. “Have a nice day.” He bows his head, going to wait for Galo by the door. 

And sure enough, after selecting a can of oats, a large loaf, and some bacon, Galo goes to chat up the old grocer. They laugh and banter like old friends and Lio wonders just how much he doesn’t know about his roommate- who else did Galo know around the city? He never realized that he incorporated little things like this into his routine as well. Then again, Lio’s guilty of never joining Galo, either. 

“Hey, sorry for taking so long. I got some food for breakfast-” Galo’s eyes widen as Lio thrusts the bouquet towards him. “Wait, you bought it?” 

“Y-yeah.” He clears his throat. “Why not?” 

“Aaw, Lio-!” He smiles, wide, and before he can even react, pulls Lio into a big hug. It’s short, but gentle and warm, with Lio breathing in the cologne on Galo’s shoulder. 

“Thank you,” he says as he pulls away, taking the bouquet and examining the little bear. “I love it.” 

“No problem.” Lio tilts his head to the side. God, he’s so embarrassed, but Galo’s happy so he supposes it’s alright. 

He tells Galo about the community garden idea as they run to the park. 

“That sounds really nice, Lio. I’m sure Mr. Greene would like that,” he says through puffs of air- tone soft. 

“So that’s his name.” Lio chuckles. “He really likes you.” 

Galo laughs. “Yeah. He says I remind him of his grandson- apparently he was Burnish.” 

They grow somber. Lio will never forgive Kray for the lives that were lost. He was in prison now, but so were a lot of ex-Burnish and good people for things they couldn’t control. If it were up to him… Kray would be rotting in hell instead. 

Galo seems to notice a shift in Lio. “You alright?” 

“Yeah. It’s just been a lot lately.” Lio bites the inside of his cheek. “Uh. Sorry I haven’t been around much,” he says sheepishly.

“Don’t apologize! It’s not like it’s in your control-!” Galo practically shouts, but quickly mellows out. “I really admire you, yanno. You’re always thinking about other people.” 

“Thank you.” Lio’s at a slight loss for words. “Sometimes I feel as though no matter what I do, it’s never enough. So it means a lot to hear that from you.” 

“You’re crazy, Lio.” Galo shakes his head. “To me, it’s like every single place you go, you’re thinking of others. I mean- I didn’t really understand anything about the Burnish until I saw you crying as that giant sky worm-!” 

“That’s not-” Lio suppresses the urge to laugh. 

“- And when we’re in conferences you just always know how to resolve a problem for everyone. Like restoring the old facility so it can be a homeless settlement; I would’ve never thought of that. And just now, even- even at the fucking grocery store, you thought about how to help your current project.” Galo’s rambling, and his eyes are shining with pride. It makes Lio’s stomach squeeze, but in a strangely good way, he feels like he’s about to cry. 

Galo continues: “You’re just- you’re so fucking cool, man. I wish you’d be able to see that.” He’s stopped running now, standing by a lamppost and the entrance of a large office building to catch his breath. 

“I- um.” Lio laughs, in disbelief. “God. You- you’re really amazing too. How do you always know just the right thing to say?” 

“I was just telling the truth.” He shrugs. 

In his head, Lio’s covering his face with his hands and he’s _screaming_ , but on the outside, he just stares at him with a big, dumb grin, hoping he’s conveying how much he’s feeling with his expression. Lio’s heart is swelling, so big he thinks it’ll burst, which is probably why his brain short circuits and stops working in that moment. 

“I really love you, Galo.” The words tumble out before he can stop them, and Lio immediately realizes his mistake as Galo stares at him, slack-jawed. 

“I- uh,” Galo stammers. 

_Fuck._

* * *

Lio runs away. 

He’s so humiliated by what he just said, he doesn’t even give Galo a chance to respond before he’s off. 

_Goddammit,_ and Galo had the keys to the apartment, so he can’t get his laptop to finish his spreadsheet. He has no choice but to either go somewhere to sulk, or return to the apartment and wait for Galo like a lost puppy- and damned if Lio is doing the latter. 

When he feels like he’s gotten far away enough, he takes out his phone and dials for Meis- who Lio assumes to be the more responsible of the two. They pick up after a few rings. 

“H- hey boss, what’s up?” 

“What are you doing right now?” Lio asks. He knows he probably sounds out of breath and panicked and cringes at himself internally. 

“Woah, you good?” 

“Ugh,” Lio mutters. This opening up thing was hard. “Honestly, not really. I think I just fucked something up and I can’t be around Galo right now.” 

“Holy shit, hold on-” he can hear Meis talking to someone in the background. 

“Is that Gueira?” 

“Um, yes.” Meis chuckles nervously, voice a little shaky. “You could say now is not a really good time, but it’s fine. We’ll manage.” 

“What-?” Lio mutters under his breath. 

“LIO YOU ASSHOLE WE’RE BUSY HERE!” Gueira screams into the phone, slightly out of breath, and suddenly it all clicks. 

“Oh my god. Sorry, guys. Fuck.” Lio runs a hand through his hair, lets out a breath. “Uh- I’ll leave you to it-” 

“No, no, boss. It’s fine,” Meis reassures. “Gueira will be okay. What do you need?” 

“Alcohol. Lots and lots of it,” he blurts out. “Also a computer.” 

“Roger that. Are you coming here or-?”

“Yeah. I’ll be over in about an hour.” 

“Perfect,” Meis says, sucking in a breath, and Lio can hear shuffling and obscenely wet noises. He hangs up before he can be tainted any more. 

* * *

Gueira’s cackling like a madman once Lio tells him, clapping one hand onto Lio’s shoulder and taking a swig of his beer with the other. 

“Oh that is so _fucked_! And you ran away?!” 

Lio’s body feels so hot already, but he swallows the last drop of his liquor anyway. 

“I’m out of my mind,” he mutters miserably, leaning forward on the bar counter. “Excuse me, could I have a refill?” he calls out to the bartender, who takes his cup. 

“Thanks.” Lio groans. 

“Just talk to him, man. Nothing’s gonna be solved by running away,” Gueira replies in a surprising moment of clarity. “You of all people should know that.” 

“What’ll he think of me?” he continues, taking another drink. “This is so hard.” 

“Geez, Fotia.” Meis comes up from behind, holding two fruity cocktails in his hands. He gives one to Gueira. “This is honestly the most human I’ve seen you.” 

“What the fuck does that mean?” Lio glares. 

“You know… the Big Boss. You’ve sorta made a name for yourself as this untouchable being.” Meis chuckles, sipping his drink. “It’s pretty refreshing to see you so flustered.” 

“Yeah. I’m… admittedly not good at this.” Lio looks down at his hands. The image of Galo’s shocked face keeps replaying in his mind. The taste of alcohol bitter at the back of his throat. 

“But I’m sure Galo doesn’t _hate you_. Actually, I was under the impression that you two had a thing going,” Meis continues, making Lio’s head shoot up. 

“You what?” 

“Everyone can see it, dumbass,” Gueira chimes in. “Take it from someone who’s actually in a relationship- he looks at you like you’re his world.” 

“And you didn’t even kiss or anything!” Meis adds. “What’s so embarrassing about telling someone you love them?” 

Lio nods gingerly. “I guess you guys are right.” 

“We always are,” Gueira says with a quirk of his lip. 

“It’s just so crazy how things turned out, I never thought I’d live in a world where we wouldn’t be on the run, or one without my fire,” Lio rambles out loud; his mouth a mind of its own. “I feel like such an alien.” 

“You’re telling me,” Gueira mumbles, and Meis nods in agreement. “If you told me just a year ago that I’d be living by the beach with my partner, I’d probably spit in your face.” 

“That’s not very nice.” Lio frowns. 

“No, no it isn’t. That’s the point- I’ve mellowed out.” They look proud, and Lio wonders if there will be a day where he feels completely settled, where everything is okay. Somehow, no matter how he thinks about it, he can’t see a perfect future without Galo. But right now he’s scared, he’s not ready. Yet, he doesn’t know when he will be. 

-

They drink until the early hours of morning. At one point, Gueira passes out, and Meis asks Lio if he’d like to stay at their house until he’s ready to go back. 

“No,” Lio says in his drunken stupor. 

“Can you even drive right now?” Meis asks. He’s had much less to drink, knowing that he’ll inevitably have to take care of them. 

“No,” Lio replies. 

“Okay, where should I take you then?” They roll their eyes, moving to support Gueira by the shoulder. 

“Promepolis…” Lio slurs. “‘ave morning shift tomorrow.” 

“What the fuck, dude.” Meis frowns. “And you didn’t think to ask us to go there instead?” 

“Sorry. Felt bad.” Lio closes his eyes. His head hurt so bad. He feels as though every time he actually looks at Meis, his vision blurs. 

“You’re gonna have a killer hangover tomorrow. Just take the day off.” 

“No,” Lio says again. He can’t let Burning Rescue down again. He can’t let anyone down. This time he tries getting up and leaving. “I’ll drive myself then.” But he’s quickly pushed down by Meis, who massages their temple in exasperation. 

“Fuck. Fine. I’ll take you back, alright? My car’s out back.” 

“But… my bike.” Lio whines, prompting yet another sigh from Meis. 

“We’ll hook it to the back. I have a carrier for mine.” 

“You’re the best, Meis…” he says. He thinks he’s smiling, but his face is numb so he can’t really tell. Actually, his entire being is numb, and the darkness is soothing. Before he knows it, Lio slips into unconsciousness, but not before hearing the frustrated groans of Meis. 

* * *

Lio is at the apartment again, except this time the fire is huge, towering over him like a giant. It’s too hot, and his skin is burning- but not in the way it used to before. This was an immense, searing pain. He thinks his eyes are still working so he looks down at his limbs- only to realize, in horror, that they were charred and blackened. He could no longer see his hands, or anything below his stomach. It was all crumbling into the air like dust, like he was nothing. 

“Help!” he hears someone cry. “Please!” But he can’t move to help them. 

There’s another scream of agony, then another, then another- all lost inside the fire, and he is enveloped in that putrid smell of death again. 

“Why did you leave me, Lio?” Thyma wails from somewhere within the fire. “You could’ve saved me, but you’re nothing.” 

_I’m nothing_ . Lio thinks, watching as the ash creeps up to his chest, then his collarbone, then his neck… _I’m nothing_. He closes his eyes as the fire consumes him. 

* * *

  
  


“Lio! Lio!” A deep voice is shouting. There’s a familiar grip on his shoulders. 

Lio wakes in full gasps, tears streaming from his eyes. He covers his face before Galo can see them, sobbing quietly into his hands. 

Galo’s silent, but his hands don’t leave Lio’s shoulders. Instead, he pulls him up into another hug, much like he did that night he agreed to move in with him. Except this time Lio sobs and sobs- the tears just won’t stop. It’s as though he’s engulfed in that void of rage and hurt and pain again. He remembers it all too well-- the uncontrollableness of his anger, the way it merged with his Burnish fire and morphed into a grotesque beast. But now all he feels is the emptiness. It’s as though someone has carved a hole inside his soul where the fire should’ve been, and he’s tired, so tired of pretending like he’s okay. But Galo knows that he is- he’s probably tired, too- of the expectations he still has to live up to Kray’s standards, of knowing that the only person he ever looked up to wants nothing to do with him. Lio holds him tighter at the thought. Galo was there with him when he died, Galo saved him when he was fading away, when he felt the worst pain of his life. 

How could he not love him? 

They just hold each other for a while. It strikes Lio that he’s in Galo’s bed- it’s bigger and softer than his- and that he has no idea how he got there. The curtains look to be shut, though there’s a small patch of sun that’s streaming onto the carpeted floor. What time was it? That’s right, Lio had a morning shift. 

He jerks out of Galo’s hold, and the nausea immediately hits him. 

“I have work,” Lio manages to say, before throwing up onto the carpet and collapsing back onto the bed. 

“There’s no way I’m letting you go. I already let Ignis know.” Galo replies gently but firmly. “Stay there, I’ll clean it up.” 

Lio pouts, staring up at the bumps in the ceiling. The events of last night are murky, but he does remember asking Meis to bring him somewhere. _That bastard_. 

Galo returns with a cool washcloth, some baking soda, and a vacuum. He lays the cloth over Lio’s forehead tentatively, brushing his bangs aside. Lio stares up at him, recalling Gueira’s words from the night before: 

_“He looks at you like you’re his world.”_

_Did Galo really…?_ Lio wonders. He can’t help but look at Galo, at his long nose, at his curved jawline, at his little dimples, at the creases in his eyebrow and the worry in his eyes- the worry about Lio, about him running away, about him getting drunk and sick. 

“Please don’t do that again,” Galo says quietly, as though he’s read his mind. 

“Sorry,” Lio mutters, guilty. “For that and for puking on your carpet.” 

“The carpet will be okay.” Galo huffs out a laugh, as though to relieve tension. “I’m just glad you didn’t get hurt.” 

“I’m fine. You’ve seen me get thrown into walls before… Actually I think you’ve probably thrown me into a wall once, too.” Lio can’t help but grin, which makes Galo smile as well. 

“Funny how things change,” he says, not taking his eyes away from Lio. 

He watches Galo; his heart loud in his ears. Neither of them dare to move, and it’s the longest minute of Lio’s life. Then, slowly, Galo brings a leg onto the bed, and he’s arching down and kissing him- 

Lio’s eyes flutter closed. He can’t imagine it’s very pleasant; he’d just thrown up after all, but Galo doesn’t really seem to care, because he’s kissing him deeply, again and again, as if he needed it much like he needed to breath.

Lio did, too. He comes up for air once, just to shift his body upwards so he’s sitting- skull against the headboard, and cups the back of Galo’s head and kisses him until he’s dizzy. Though he’s not sure if that was because of the migraine or not. Galo moves his hands as well so that one is pushing against the headboard next to Lio and the other is holding his face so gently, like he’s something precious. 

He doesn’t know how long they stay like that, but eventually Galo breaks away, still holding Lio’s chin with the tips of his thumb and index fingers. 

“For the record, I love you too,” he says, voice low. 

It’s so cheesy that Lio can’t help but laugh, making his head throb, but he doesn’t really care because he can’t stop. He’s so giddy and happy it’s like he’s floating. 

“What? What’s so funny?” Galo looks perplexed, yet there’s a curve of a smile on his mouth that makes Lio want to kiss him again. 

So he loops his hands around Galo’s neck and pulls him in once more.

* * *

  
  


Lio learns to wake up early. It’s easier when they’ve started sleeping in the same bed and Galo refuses to fall asleep at any time earlier than 9. Lio still will never sleep that early, but he does try to by at least 11, crawling under the covers and hooking his arms around Galo’s middle and listening to his loud breathing until he drifted off. 

He actually enjoys it much more than expected, because it means getting to cook breakfast and go on runs together in the morning. After all, the sunrise is much nicer when he has someone to look at it with. 

They finally get to go see the geese, who end up taking such a liking to the oats that they chase Galo all the way up a tree, to Lio’s amusement, of course- and there is no way he isn’t going to take advantage of the opportunity to record and save a video to show the rest of Burning Rescue, Gueira, and Meis, despite Galo’s whines of protest. 

* * *

Aina bumps Lio on the shoulder during his next shift.

“Congrats,” she says with a knowing smile. 

“Thanks.” He finds himself smiling back. 

* * *

Winter falls on Promepolis, and Lio realizes how much he fucking hates the cold. 

It’s never been this bad before- freezing him right down to the bone. No matter how many sweaters he wore, or space heaters he sat in front of, he was constantly cold. 

But the worst part was that the quick onset of the weather and the slow approval of the government had put the community garden plans on halt, and Lio was so looking forward to it. Now all he could do was sit inside and write up documents or spreadsheets all day under the safety of five blankets. That, and shifts at Burning Rescue. The air was drier, so that meant more fires in residential homes. Some days he has to stay at the B.R. headquarters overnight due to the frequency of them in the main city area. 

The people around him make it easier. Lucia and Varys install a working kitchen in the lounge area, Aina buys a shit ton of futons and blankets to spread out on the floor, and Galo and Lio keep the pantry stocked on their bi-weekly excursions to the grocery store. 

They’ll have movie nights often, with Lio tucked into a thick comforter alongside Galo, nursing a cup of hot chocolate and trying not to wince at the cheap jumpscares in Lucia’s favorite horror movie; Galo, Varys, and Remy practically leap out of their seats, while Lio always ends up complaining about the story with Aina, and Ignis is somehow always asleep. Lucia took the opportunity to draw a mustache on him once, and they were all stuck with rotating bathroom duty for a month. 

Sometimes Meis and Gueira will join them, always bearing alcohol, and they’ll exchange stories about the Mad Burnish or play spin the bottle, but Ignis never lets them get too drunk. They make fun of Lio a lot for that night he blacked out. 

It’s nice to have a break from all the government-related things and simply focus on putting out fires for a change. Lio tries his best to take Aina’s advice, learning to be okay with his abilities once again. He still misses his fire, but the loss becomes less empty with each passing day, because he has his friends, because he has Galo, to fill it in. 

The dead still haunt him, however. Lio will be startled awake some nights due to the nightmares; Thyma appears in them often. And whenever he cries out into the darkness, he’ll feel a warm arm wrap around him. 

“It’s okay, Lio,” Galo says, taking his hand and rubbing small circles on his thumb. “It’s not real. There was nothing you could do.” 

On other nights, it’ll be Lio doing the same. The first time it happened, he was pretty jarred. Galo hid his scars well. It took a few weeks before he even became comfortable with removing the sleeve he used to cover up the burn marks on his arm in front of Lio. 

He had always been a shallow sleeper, and that moment he was jarred awake by Galo’s sudden shouting: 

“No! No!” He tosses around violently. 

“Galo? What’s wrong?” Lio sits up, groggy, but Galo didn’t seem to hear him. 

“Kray… What?” he mumbles. A single tear falls out of his eye. “How could you do this?” 

“Oh, Galo.” Lio sighs, his heart feels like it’ll break into bits. He bends down to cradle his head, pressing a kiss onto his forehead and kisses his face- his long lashes, his nose, his eyelids, until Galo gasps awake. 

“I- Kray-” he mumbles, looking up at Lio with half-asleep eyes. He’s so beautiful here in the moonlight. Lio wants to hold him and never let go. 

“I love you so much,” Lio says with honesty that could only come with the clarity of night. “Please tell me what’s bothering you.” 

“I love you too,” Galo responds immediately, pulling Lio down for a kiss. He tells Lio about his dream where Kray had told him he didn’t matter and that he never cared for him, before pushing him down an endless void. 

“How Shakespearian,” Lio remarks. 

“Saying it now makes it sound so stupid.” Galo laughs.

“That’s how you should think about it, then.” Lio yawns, settling back into the covers. “Kray is a stupid, stupid man.” 

“That’s one way of putting it,” Galo mutters into his hair, an arm already slung around him. 

* * *

Lio doesn’t know anything about Promepolis holiday traditions until Aina, Lucia, and Varys jumped into the lounge room, dancing around and waving slips of paper in the air. Galo, who had been cuddling with him on the big couch, to Lio’s immense annoyance, also leaps up and joins the dance. 

“What is going on…?” Lio asks, raising an eyebrow. 

“We got tickets to the Winter Festival-!” Lucia shouts, baring her fangs. 

The other three start cheering, but Lio only blinks in confusion. 

“What’s so special about that?” 

“Lio?!” Galo gasps, a hand over his heart. “Have I taught you nothing?”

“I’m serious.” Lio laughs. “I don’t know what that is.” 

His confusion grows as they all exchange knowing glances. 

“Oh we _have_ to go now,” Lucia says with a sinister grin. To be fair, that was most of Lucia’s smiles, but Lio is still unnerved regardless. 

* * *

“Oh my gosh, Lio. You look so cute!” Aina coos. 

Lio only grumbles. It’s not like he wants to be outside in the cold right now, so he had to take the necessary precautions… of wearing at least two sweaters, a scarf, earmuffs, hat, fluffy gloves, and a big red down coat. 

“I know right? He looks like a little snowman.” Galo pats his head. And though Lio hates to admit, he didn’t quite hate it. 

“Or a tomato, from the way he’s blushing.” Lucia snickers. 

“I could drop kick you like a football,” Lio says, glaring at her. Lucia only sticks her tongue out. The devil. 

“Come on, Lio-” Galo tugs on his sleeve impatiently. “I gotta show you the games.” 

“Okay, okay. Lead the way.” 

“I’m so gonna beat you at the water pistol game,” Aina shouts, already starting to run towards the festival area. 

“You fucking wish!” And Galo’s off, chasing after Aina and pumping his fists. Lio’s a little disappointed he left his side, but he looks so happy that he just ends up watching as they fade into the distance. However, Lio realizes with creeping dread, that Galo leaving meant he was stuck with… 

“Hey guys, I got some hot chocolate!” Varys comes up out of nowhere, somehow holding five styrofoam cups to his chest. 

“You’re a lifesaver.” Lio sighs, taking one from him. It’s warm on his palm, and Lio hums contentedly. 

“Oh come on, I’m not THAT scary.” Lucia nudges him, immediately taking a sip from her cup and recoiling at the heat, “- Ouch!” 

“I dunno, Lucia. I’ve known you for years, but you still creep me out sometimes.” Varys glances at her wearily. “Where did the others go?” 

“Um, the water pistol game?” Lio questions. 

“Oh shit, Lio. You’re in for a treat.” Vary chuckles. 

Turns out, Galo was _very_ competitive. It wasn’t as though Lio didn’t already know this, he’d figured since they first met and Galo jumped in to fight him without hesitation. But this, THIS was something different. 

Galo was ruthless, and to be fair, Aina was as well. They both sat at the game stall, water guns in hand, blasting away at the targets like there was no tomorrow. It looked like they were pretty evenly matched, with Aina slightly ahead. 

“What beasts.” Lucia cackles. Which Lio feels was an understatement. 

Aina wins, receiving a large stuffed cat in compensation, but not before Galo puffs his chest up, one leg on the stool, pointing at her and challenging her to “the balloon dart game”. Lio’s sure he doesn’t actually know any of the names in this place, and sighs, both in exasperation and fondness. 

“I’m gonna win you something today,” Galo declares to him, and in a sudden burst of determination, Lio decides: 

“Not if I win you something first.” 

The challenge was on, with Lio, Galo, and Aina rushing stall to stall and Varys and Lucia following close behind, keeping score. Lucia ends up drinking all of the hot chocolate because no one else is paying attention. 

So far, Lio was largely in the lead. He finds that he’s surprisingly good at aiming things or figuring out the tricks in the games. 

“I guess all that Mad Burnish training wasn’t for nothing,” he observes, to the frustration of Galo and Aina. 

He’s won about six stuffed animals about now, while Aina has only won three and Galo two. 

“Liooo,” he whines as they’re deep into a game of ring toss. “How am I supposed to be a good boyfriend if I’ve barely won you anything?” 

“It’s fine. I’m just happy being here with you.” Lio concentrates on one of the items- a little fox with a bright tuft of hair that reminds him of Galo, and throws his ring. It lands too perfectly. Lio cheers, receiving high-fives from Varys and Aina. 

“Here.” He hands the fox to Galo, among the plethora of plushies he’s gotten for him that evening. “It’s all yours.” 

Galo only pouts, puffing out his cheeks. He’s so cute that Lio can’t help but lean up and kiss him, standing on his tiptoes. 

“Gross.” He hears Lucia gag behind them. 

“Don’t be sad.” Lio tousles his hair slightly as they break apart. “You’re perfect already.” 

-

The night stretches on. They get tired of games after a while and move onto the food stands. Galo loves kebabs, especially ones with meat and roasted veggies, and Lio takes quite a liking to candied fruit. 

Lucia, on the other hand, eats so many sweets that she goes into a sugar rush and passes out on Varys’s shoulder. 

“I should take her home. I’m pretty sleepy too,” he says sheepishly, lifting her into his arms. 

Lio checks the time and is surprised to find that it was already 11:30. With all the fun he’s been having, he didn’t realize how long they’d been here. 

“Aw, you’re not going to stay for the tree lighting?” Aina looks disappointed, munching on her cotton candy. 

“Nah. You guys have fun.” Varys shrugs. “I have a early shift tomorrow, anyway.” 

Aina watches them leave, then turns to Galo and Lio. There’s a spark of realization in her eye, paired with a slight parting of her lips. 

“You know what? I just remembered there’s something important I have to do…” she trails off. “Yeah.” 

“What? You’re leaving too?” Galo frowns.

“Yep! I got everything I wanted today, so,” Aina chirps, tossing the remains of the cotton candy into the bin beside their table. She collects her stuffed animals. “I’ll beat you one day, Fotia,” she says with a wink. “See ya-!” 

“Damn. Everyone left,” Galo laments, staring at their empty seats. 

“It’s just the two of us now,” Lio says, hoping to god his dumb boyfriend will get the hint. 

“Oh.” Galo’s eyes widen. He jerks around to look at Lio. “ _Oh!_ ”

“Let’s go.” Lio snorts, lacing his fingers through Galo’s. “I want to see what this tree lighting is all about.” 

* * *

  
  


There’s a small crowd gathered around the tree at the center of the square, filled with excited chatter and the occasional muted laughter. They manage to squeeze their way to the front, thanks to Galo’s impressive shoulder width. 

The icy breeze attacks Lio, despite his many layers of clothing. He curses himself for sticking with his usual black leather jeans, because he was freezing his ass off right now, quite literally. 

“Galo.”

“Hm?” 

“I’m cold. Let me in your jacket.” 

Galo just laughs, unbuttons his coat and allows Lio to slip in there. He thinks his boyfriend might be secretly Burnish, since that was the only explanation as to how he was always warm. Lio sucks in a breath as he feels Galo’s arms wrap around his middle and his chin coming to rest on top of his head. 

“Better?” Galo mutters. 

“Yeah.” Lio sighs into the hold. “Much.” 

As the clock grows closer to midnight, the crowd starts counting.

“Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four-!”

“Three!” Galo taps Lio’s shoulder. 

“Turn around,” he whispers. Hot breath against Lio’s ear. 

“Two!” Lio does his best to maneuver himself as fast as possible, twisting around so they’re chest to chest. 

“One!” He places his arms around Galo’s neck, already knowing what was to come. 

The crowd cheers as the tree lights up in a blaze of yellow, alongside all the string lights above the plaza. Fireworks start from behind the tree- erupting in a cacophony of pinks, purples, blues, and whites. Lio stares up at the sky in awe. It reminds him so much of his fire, the spark as his body is so overcome with emotion, reuniting with the core of the Promare at the center of the Earth. It’s beautiful. 

He’s so distracted that he doesn’t even notice Galo watching him in the exact same way until he feels himself being pulled in, and their lips meet in a gentle kiss. It’s sweeter than the others, and Galo tastes like a strange combination of the meat kebab and Aina’s cotton candy. Lio could stay here forever. 

They break away, but still keep their faces close together, foreheads touching. Galo’s grinning, brighter than he’s ever seen before, and Lio thinks that it comes pretty close to the blaze of his fire. In fact, it might’ve even been better. 

He doesn’t know if he’ll ever get used to the feeling, of being settled in, of being loved, of carving a home for himself in Promepolis of all places, but when he looks at Galo’s bright smile and into his pretty blue eyes that looks at Lio like he’s the entire world- he knows that at least he can try. 

**Author's Note:**

> PHEW i finished it!!! in a small quarantine with nothing to do so i ended up in a three day haze where i just wrote this nonstop; it's my first one-shot and probably the first time i actually finished something on this website lmao
> 
> thank you so much for reading and leave comments if you'd like <3 also happy new year :3


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